ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on my reflections of 12 years of service in the dean’s office at a small, comprehensive, liberal arts and sciences university in the USA. As part of an international collection of chapters by current and former university administrators from the USA, Australia, and Europe, I make no claims of external validity to other contexts, but rather, offer this narrative, reflective chapter to current deans who, like me, have thought about life outside of the dean’s office—outside the “circle of knowing.” My hope is that consumers of this chapter will find the narrative engaging, thought-provoking, and possibly even helpful should they be considering a return to their academic roots in higher education. The decision to resign from the dean’s office is complicated. After years of service at the international, national, state, and regional levels, the decision to “return to the faculty” is filled with unknowns: How will I be perceived by my new colleagues? This can be particularly challenging if you are returning to the faculty over which you have provided leadership for some extended period of time. Can your colleagues accept you as “one of them”? How will your replacement (possibly interim) dean view you as a faculty member? Will you continue to be consulted, and perhaps used as a “dean whisperer”? How hard is it to let go of the “reigns of power” and leave the “circle of knowing”?
